Spontaneous mnemonics employed by children and adults in learning four types of material (serial list of words, paired-associates, free recall of pictures, free recall of words) are investigated over two individual sessions with two kinds of material each session. The S is given the material to be learned, along with paper and pencil, for a fixed period to study in any way he choses. At the end of that time he is tested for recall and queried about his mnemonic strategy. Up to three study-test cycles are run to attainment of 100 percent correct recall. Data have been collected for college women and children in grades 6 and 8 of both sexes at 3 ability levels. College students construct mnemonics which organize the stimulus material into 4-6 chunks based upon particular properties of the material (conceptual classes, rhythmic grouping, alphabetizing, etc.) Children also construct mnemonics but the efficiency of such mnemonics and the extent of their use is a function of ability level. For children recall performance appears to be positively correlated with type of mnemonic strategy. The marked relation of both recall performance and strategy with intellectual ability does not support the widespread assumption that memorizing skill is unrelated to intelligence.